On April 2, 2002, at Madison Square Garden, Pau Gasol received his second Rookie of the Month trophy.

The Knicks had a busy schedule in March, but Gasol's stats were back on track.

A large part of this is due to injuries to opponents, and although the Knicks also have a sick number, the attendance of the starting lineup is still very good.

Securing a playoff spot early, New York fans are naturally happy, and with the successful suppression of the Nets, which are also in the Atlantic Division, the division championship flag is about to be in the bag.

Tonight's opponent is again the Hornets, and Byron Davis is not happy every time he comes to Madison Square Garden.

After losing the All-Star, the bearded man was angry with a wave of Iverson, and so was Paul Pearce, who was substituted for the All-Star, these two pinched soft persimmons!

Interestingly, both the Hornets and Celtics outperformed the 76ers in terms of records, and the two were holding their nerve to kick their opponents out of the playoffs.

Gasol, who lifted the trophy, was in great shape tonight, and he became more and more comfortable eating cakes under the basket.

The first half was still 50:50, and the battle was evenly matched, and in the third quarter of the game, the bearded and David Wesley took the lead in the iron.

With 5:02 left in the third quarter, David Wesley briefly escaped Lee Woo with the help of PJ Brown's cover on the right flank.

There was a slight pause on the three-point line, followed by an immediate acceleration with a heavy shoulder, and David Wesley's offensive options were guessed by Kurt Thomas.

He slid to the left and back for the first time, and Kurt Thomas didn't forget to give a physical confrontation.

After the collision, David Wesley immediately slowed down, and when he noticed that Li You behind him was still chasing, he gritted his teeth and slammed under the basket when he was completely covered.

The jump close to the paint area managed to shake off a bit of space, but when David Wesley completed the throw with his right hand, cheers rang in his ears.

"Smack!"

Li You, who had already been adjusting his pace, immediately sent out a pegboard hat after chasing and jumping up behind him!

The rebound of the basketball was controlled by Gasol under the basket, followed by a long pass, and Grant Hill, who quickly rushed past the halfcourt, scooped the ball and surged against Byron Davy.

Despite being a timely retreat, Gamar Mashburn was left behind by Artest, who went down the middle.

Approaching the right flank, Grant Hill took advantage of the situation to shove the ball forward, and Artest, who rushed to the paint area, received the ball and rushed up in three steps to quickly complete the two-handed dunk!

At 57:67, the difference came to 10 points, and the cheers couldn't stop for a while.

“Wow！”

The three-point shot pulled his hips, but Artest's fast break was unusually aggressive.

Coach Paul Silas on the sidelines reluctantly folded his arms and the timeout didn't work.

As in the previous meeting between the two sides, whenever the Knicks came out of force in the third quarter and began to squeeze the backcourt, the Hornets would most likely lose power on offense.

After only scoring seven points in the first half of the game, Byron Davis was in a hurry and no longer patiently looked for opportunities when he attacked again.

At the top of the arc, with the help of the big man Magroyle's cover, Byron Davis got rid of Hill's pursuit, adjusted his footwork, and immediately stopped and quickly jumped.

Gasol's symbolic block didn't do much, but the basketball hit the back edge of the basket and bounced into Lee's hand.

The Hornets responded to each other and quickly retreated, and Byron Davis went straight to Lee Yoo in an attempt to delay the transition to offense.

When chasing to the side, the bearded man realized that Li You didn't want to advance quickly at all, and he didn't hurry to complete the dribble behind his back, and then relied on him to accelerate the dribble through the half.

At the top of the arc away from the three-point line, Byron Davis watched as Lee Yo quickly gave the ball to Gasol, who was parked on the outside, and shouted to his teammates while pulling the defense.

Gasol, who was standing still on the three-point line, just grabbed the ball with his left hand behind his side and made a hand-to-hand motion, pulling Li You pretended to catch the ball and suddenly moved sideways and ran back.

Approaching the left flank, Lee Woo received a pass from Gasol and couldn't get rid of the beard's pursuit, while Gasol moved laterally again to the right side of Lee Woo to try to continue the block.

After shaking his body to the right, Li You quickly released the ball with his left hand, and the defense miscalculated, and Byron Davis lost the defensive position in an instant when he slid to the left to squeeze past the screen.

Dribbled sideways and retreated, Li You didn't give the opponent much time to react, drifted to the left, and quickly jumped outside the three-point line!

"Huh!" Three-pointers hollow into the net.

At 57:70, the margin continued to widen.

The bearded man glanced at his big teammate who didn't react, and subconsciously roared twice, and the feedback he got was that the New York fans at the scene were getting louder and louder.

From the half-court to the passing and shaking of the catch and shooting, the offensive time has not yet reached 11 seconds, and it is naturally frustrating to lose points extremely quickly.

The anxious Hornets subconsciously accelerated the pace of attack, and as a result, the more they shot, the more iron they shot, and the Knicks entered a state of fast offense and fierce tigers.

Thibodeau sat quietly on the bench and watched the margin grow wider, and he knew he had another win tonight.

At 12:30 in the first quarter, at the end of the third quarter, at 52:80, Madison Square Garden was left with the happy shouts of New York fans.

There were zero points in the single quarter, and when Byron Davis returned to the bench, his eyes were straight again.

This familiar scene has been experienced many times this season.

On the MSG commentary bench, Mike Brin knew that the team would definitely win, and then talked about the Knicks' record:

"There were 10 games in April, and in terms of schedule, there were two back-to-back games, but neither of them was a playoff team."

"It looks like we still have a chance to get 60 wins this season!"

"Lee is really good, since he joined the Knicks, the record has been consistent, and it looks like we have a chance to tie some historical records!"

When Walter Fraser heard this, he immediately complained proudly:

"If it weren't for a shortened season, maybe the Knicks would have completed six consecutive seasons with 60 wins."

"But time is on our side, and I'm sure Lee will lead the team to a record that belongs to the Knicks!"

Since the 85~86 season, the Lakers have achieved 60+ wins in 4 consecutive seasons.

Since the beginning of the 79~80 season, in 7 years, the Celtics have won 60+ games 6 times, and two 3 consecutive 60+ wins.

The shrinking season has affected the Knicks' record, and the New York media has previously won the "If".

If they get another 60 wins this season, the Knicks will be able to pay off some of their loans.

Halfway through the fourth quarter, head coach Paul Silas called a timeout to replace the main lineup.

The Hornets also need to fight for a playoff spot, so naturally they won't over-drain their main roster in a game like this.

In the end, at 84:103, the Knicks defeated their opponents and continued to attack 60 wins!

After missing eight mid-month games in March, Grant Hill was back in form by the end of the month.

Played 34 minutes, 9-of-17, 5-of-6 free throws, 23 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block and 2 turnovers.

Despite his high shooting percentage, Hill has scored mediocre points in every game and has only scored 34 points once this season.

Compared with Li You's easy 30+, Grant Hill, who only relies on +2, has a big difference in scoring explosiveness.

However, New York fans were very satisfied with this performance, scoring 20 points on 50% shooting, which met the fans' expectations for Hill.

Tamia, who comes to Madison Square Garden to watch the game when she has time, stands up and applauds her husband as always, and the environment in New York is better than that of Detroit.

Grant Hill, who was interviewed after the game, did not forget about the record, and also took the initiative to express his position at this time:

"It's easy to play next to Lee and although the schedule is a bit intense, we're confident of 60 wins."

“.”

Starting on April 4, the Knicks started their Western tour again.

The Trail Blazers and SuperSonics have also had injuries, with Lewis having missed 10 games this season.

In two games, the opponent scored just over 80 points, and the Knicks won the game again with relatively good projection.

On the night of the 7th, when facing the Kings away, the blacksmith-possessed Knicks suffered a heavy defeat.

88:116, fitness affected, defensive hip pull, double killed by Kings this season.

After being clocked in by the opponent in the third quarter and losing this game, most sports media interviewed Li You and asked about the scoring champion:

"Lee, there are six games left, if Iverson comes back from injury, will it put pressure on you?"

TNT's reporter asked this question, and Lee Youcai, who was present at the press conference, reacted that the pressure was referring to the average points per game:

"No, there's no pressure, I've never cared about data."

"It's very easy for me to score, and I can score 20 points with four finishes under the basket and four three-pointers in a game."

"Add in some free throws and fast breaks, and it's actually a pretty easy thing to score 30 points."

"I don't need to shoot too much, I want my teammates to play well."

"We're going to give it our all for the next six games, and I hope the Knicks can reach 60 wins this season."

Li You calmly said his scoring method, and invisibly pretended to be an X, and the reporters in the audience were speechless, and many people even felt that it made sense

The ESPN reporter didn't forget Iverson's Excel, and then began to ask again:

"The 76ers may miss the playoffs, Iverson has been crazy in a lot of games, Lee, how would you evaluate the opponent?"

The local sports media in Sacramento are a little unhappy, and they are the protagonists tonight!

Hearing the other party mention the 76ers again, Li You simply shook his head and changed the topic and said:

"I never thought the 76ers were our opponents, and I wasn't interested in following Iverson's way of playing."

"Maybe he's in it for the win, but there are a lot of players in the league who are better than him."

"The Kings have 57 wins so far, and I want to praise them even more tonight."

got the answer he wanted, the reporters in the audience smiled happily, in the next week, everyone can output balloon stars again!

On April 17, the Knicks ushered in the last regular season game of the season.

At the end of the half, at 39:53, the Nets were already trailing by 14 points.

Richard Jefferson, who came off the bench tonight, is no longer magical, perhaps because of back-to-back games, and everyone on the Nets is lacking energy.

In last night's game between the Nets and Pistons, Kidd was 3-of-16 for 7 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists, 3 steals and 1 turnover.

At 103:98, the Nets lost at home.

Perhaps because he felt that there was no hope for the first place in the East, the triple-double Masters began to rot at the end of the season

The Knicks went on a five-game winning streak in the final stages and are now 60-21.

At the last home of the regular season, New York fans were cheering and celebrating the team's 60-win streak for three consecutive seasons.

Especially when they saw the second-place Nets pulling their hips like this, everyone felt that the finals were beckoning to them again!

On the MSG commentary bench, Walter Fraser smiled from ear to ear and entered a rebuilding period, but the result was not affected in any way:

"I don't like it when pundits compare Lee to some players."

"Lee is unique in the league and has led the team to 60 wins for three years in a row, which is definitely a remarkable achievement."

Commentator Mike Brin also secretly said at this time that it is a pity, the New York media loan still makes sense, if it is not for the shrinking season, maybe they can really achieve the achievement of 60 wins in 6 consecutive years:

"A star player can guarantee a team's lower limit, and Lee's lower limit is higher than a lot of players, that's what a superstar is capable of!"

“.”

In the second half, both sides began to fish, and neither victory or defeat could affect the rankings.

The Knicks have 61 wins, but they were beaten by the Kings this season, and even if they lose tonight, they will still be second in the league.

And even if the Nets win, they can't change the rankings, and they are still second in the East.

Everyone was not motivated, and after entering the fourth quarter of the game, the bench lineup came on, and the two sides closed the gold.

Stephen Jackson, who was on the bench, was the most depressed, and a hamstring injury cost him the season, making it rare to make the playoffs, but he had to continue to sit on the bench.

Artest is also in a bit of a bad mood, and Ben Wallace may get the DPOY this season

The jubilant atmosphere at Madison Square Garden also affected Lee, who won 61 and had a better record than he had expected.

Towards the end of the game, Coach Thibodeau also hugged Li You.

Although he has been hanging up for two months, the results of first place in the East and second place in the league still make Thibodeau a little excited:

"Great, Lee! Unbelievable, we really got 60/win! ”

The coaching staff also stepped forward to hug Li You, and the departure of Jeff Van Gundy did not have any impact on the team.

Without much excitement, Li You just smiled and simply encouraged everyone:

"It's just 60 wins, but I hope to break the record set by the Bulls one day! Thank you all for your dedication this season. ”

The bald young coach left, and the coaching staff did bear a lot of pressure, and this time it was able to equal the record set by the Celtics, which can be regarded as living up to the expectations of fans.

The final buzz sounded, 92:99, in the 2001~2002 season, the Knicks finally achieved a 61-21 record!

At Madison Square Garden, all the New York fans stood up and applauded.

Victory is the pursuit of fans, and it is cool to buy tickets to watch the game.

No one felt that the tickets in their hands were lost, everyone began to look forward to the subsequent playoffs, and the feeling of winning was fascinating!

Pau Gasol also couldn't stop laughing, and although there was a lot of language barriers, he could feel the affection of the fans.

It was definitely a perfect start for a first-year rookie.

Feeling the lively atmosphere of the scene, Kidd suddenly thought that if he met the Knicks in the playoffs, there was a high probability that the home court would become an away team.

Thinking of this, his face became even more ugly for a while, and he was output by the ball critics every day, Kidd and Li You simply hugged and greeted, and then complimented expressionlessly:

"Lee, congratulations in advance on winning the MVP!"

The two bumped fists to celebrate, and Li You smiled and patted the surface brother on the shoulder:

"Thanks, Bro! I'm starting to look forward to what we're going to do in the playoffs! ”

The corners of his eyes twitched slightly, and Kidd thought of his home environment, and there was no trace of expectation in his heart.

When the opponent left the court, everyone on the Knicks raised their hands and high-fived the fans constantly.

“MVP！ MVP！ MVP！ ”

Hearing the shouts getting louder and louder, Li You also showed a smile and waved to the fans again, and at the same time, his heart moved, and he drew the Atlantic Division championship reward:

[Jason Kidd's extraordinary passing vision]

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(End of chapter)